THE Frohloff family continues to reign as Queensland’s super-sized pumpkin growers.
However, Minden farmer Geoff Frohloff, 63, has seen his hopes of a fourth consecutive title in the iconic Royal Queensland Show Giant Pumpkin competition squashed by son Tony’s entry.
Identical in size, Tony’s Atlantic Giant pumpkin was 10kg heavier than his dad’s, weighing in at 257kg.
It wasn’t an Ekka record breaker though. Geoff retains that honour with his 2015 entry, a whopping 261.5kg.
“Luck and all those years I’ve worked the soil, that’s what made the difference,” Geoff chuckled as he congratulated his son, 35, and grandson, Riley, 8, whose 48.5kg pumpkin was the biggest in the youth category.
“I’m a hard nut to crack. I’ll bounce back although I’ll have to keep an eye on the young one too in future!”
Frohloffs have been small crop farmers in Minden since the 1890s, Geoff working the land since he was 15.
But there’ll be no feasting on pumpkin soup for this farming community: spectacular in size, the Atlantic Giant is grown as cattle feed.
- Brisbane’s Ekka runs from 11 to 20 August.
Concession tickets get added discounts when purchased online: http://www.ekka.com.au/2017-tickets
